4.10.2009

In Search of Low Down Len

Lately I've been frequenting the Salvation Army in Port Chester, New York, a town in Westchester County near the SUNY Purchase campus, where a little-known 80's-90's Chicago DJ called "Low Down" Len Woolfolk evidently deposited all of his records at some point or another. Each visit seems to unearth more vinyl treasures with "Low Down Len Woolfolk" scrawled on the labels, ranging from Chi-town jack anthems from the likes of Marshall Jefferson and Chip E to raunchy ghetto tracks from Paul Johnson's group The Traxxmen.

Low Down Len seems to have hailed, not surprisingly, from Chicago and later matriculated at Jackson State University in Mississippi. A cursory Google search for "Low Down Len" turned up one relevant result, consisting of a former JSU student reminiscing about Woolfolk's proclivity for spontaneous public performances:

No matter how hot or late it was, "Low Down Len" from Chicago was known to plug his equipment up on the plaza, and within minutes, there would be thousands of students jammed in front of Alexander West Hall. All studying, TV viewing, and sleep would cease as multitudes would get dressed up to dance and socialize.

Unbeknownst to Woolfolk, his collection of Chicago house 12's has had something of a second life lately, as I've been playing many of them out at house parties on my college's campus. The response they've gotten hasn't exactly equalled the jack en masse described in the excerpt above, but they have been a real pleasure to spin, and uncovering them at the Salvo for $1 a pop has kept me coming back in search of Low Down Len.

Curiously, Len Woolfolk is credited alongside Kanye West as a producer on the Consequence album Don't Quit Your Day Job. This might just be a coincidence, but the ambiguity only adds to the Low Down Len mystique. God bless you, Len, wherever you are - if you're out there, please do a mix for the blog!